Bottle-closure



(No'MoaeL) J. H. WITTE-KIND.

BOTTLE' GLOSURE.

No. 599,886. Patented Marfil, 1898,

'Wnassem Lzyentqr: I i Juhugjekuad,

y wf @as tle so as to permit the contents of the bottle AUNITED STATESvPATENT OFFICE.

JULIUS H. VVITTEKIND, OF-BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

BoTTLE-CLo'su ma.v

SFECIFICATION-forming part of Letters Patent No. 599,886, dated March 1,1898. Application filed February 1, 1897.y Serial No. 621,420. (Nomodel.)

T0 all wwn/zrz'tntrty concern,.-

Be it known that I, J ULiUs H. Wirrnxinn,

of Boston, in the county of Suffolk andState of Massachusetts, haveinvented an Improvement in Bottle-Closures, of which the followingdescription, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is aspecification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

My invention relates to that class of bottleclosures particularlyadapted to stop the botto be readily poured out, but to prevent itsrefilling, the object of my invention being to make a superior stopperand at low cost of manufacture and to `make it feasible to produce astopper of this kind made entirely of glass.

I-leretofore there have been many Stoppers proposed to be made of glass,but all that I am familiar with have been found to be exceedinglyexpensive or impossible when the practical making of them in glass hasbeen undertaken. The glass has to be cast in molds, and while in theorythe possible shapes and constructions may be almost unlimited they provein practice to be very limited, and it results that when the manyproposed stoppers reach the hands of the practical glassworker theyprove tobe impossible without unwarranted expense in making andmanipulating the molds and! glass, which of course renders the reputedinventions impractical and useless for their intended purposes.

After extended practical experience I have produced the herein describedinvention, which is cheap to manufacture, practical in all respects, andaccomplishes the objects had in view, particularly in permitting theready outflow of the liquid and in absolutely preventing any reiillingof the bottle.

A further feature of my invention relates to the prevention of removalof the stopper, and` consists in ninterposing an explosive which uponmovement of the stopper or entrance of moisture'the'reto will explodeand shatter the bottle-neck, thereby effectually preventing anyfraudulent reiillin g of the bottle in its' original appearance.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrative of the preferred embodimentof my invention, Figure l is a central vertical section of my improvedbottle-stopper in operative position.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on line 2 2, Fig. 1, the valve beingomitted. Fig. 3 is a similar sectional view showing a modification.Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective views of the upper and lower portions,respectively, of the casing or shell. Figsl 6 to 10 are perspectiveviews of the separable internal parts and valves ofthe stopper. Figs. l1and 12 are similar views of different forms of the retaining-spring.

The casing or shell of the stopper consists of two portions separablyconnected to permit of the introduction therein of the contained parts,said portions being shown as a crown or cap A and base B, screwedtogether at b, the latter being a separate piece, as shown in Figs. land 5, or formed integrally with the bottle C, as shown in Fig. 3.

The cap A has its closed or headed top perforated to provide acircle ofapertures a and a central obstruction a and is in the form of a cylinderfrom one end to the other, with the exceptions of the top flange a2,retaininggroove of?, and internal shoulder a4, provided for purposespresently described.

The base B has its closed or headed lower end centrally perforated toprovide a conical valve-seat b and contains a number of vertical ribsb2, which accurately direct and center the valve D, the latter havingits walls vertical excepting at its seating end CZ, where it is groundto tightly fit its seat b'.

-Next to the top a' I provide an annular obstruction E to rest againstthe shoulder a4, said annulus being centrally perforated at c out ofalinement with the apertures a and Below the annulus E is astop-diaphragmv F, Fig. '7, resting against the lowersurface of saidannulus and having a central solid portion f, larger than the opening e,from which depend several lugs f' and radial rests or arms f2.

The remaining portion of the cap A below the diaphragm F is occupied bya cylindrical block G, Fig. 8, having a central tapered valveseat g toreceive a float-valve H, the block vbeing cut away above the line ofseating engagement of the valve therewith to provide ways g for theready passage of the liquid. At its lower end the block G is preferablyconcaved,

IOO

as indicated at g2, and has an undercut or lip g3 (see Fig. l) to retaina spring S, so as to make it easy to assemble the parts and get thespring in correct position.

The spring S is spiral and rests within the valve D over a guide-postd', although the latter may be omitted, if desired, as shown in Fig. 9.In fact, the spring itself may be omitted, if preferred, and this willbe desirable in bottling acids or other goods1 which would attack andeat away metal.

The lower end of the valve D is heavy to facilitate the perfect seatingthereof.

The internal Walls of the portions A and B and the ribs h2 are madeslightly tapering or conical, with their shorter diameters at theirclosed ends to permit the molding-tools to be simple and to be easilyWithdrawn from the casting or molded product.

All the parts as above mentioned exeepting the spring are made readilyand practically of glass and in very simple inexpensive molds. They mayof course be made of any other substance, if preferred; but oneprincipal purpose of my invention is to devise a stopper of such partsand of parts having such shape, relations, and practical constructionthat it may be made cheaply and entirely of glass.

The parts are assembled by inverting the portion A, dropping the annulusE against the shoulder a4, placing the stop F thereon, depositing theball-valve II on the lugs f and inserting the block G, the spring S,when used, being snapped into the holding-groove g3. The bottom edge ofblock G will then come iinsh with the adjacent end of the cap portion A.A Washer a5 is then placed over the said iiush edges, the valve D isturned over its spring S, the base B screwed down into place, and thecompletely assembled stopper is inverted into proper upright positionready for insertion into the bottle-neck.

In order to aid in retaining the stopper and also for another purposepresently described, I insert in the groove as a spring-keeper K, Fig.l1, or K', Fig. 12, Which iits back snugly into the recess and hasresilient tongues 7c k projecting therefrom to engage a registeringrecess m in the bottle.

The spring-keeper K has a rectangular or enlarged bottom edge 7a2, sothat when the tongues 7s are pressed in together by the insertion of thestopper into the neck of the bottle there is yet remaining anappreciable pocket between the then parallel front and rear portions ofthe keeper K before the former have snapped out into the recess m, Fig.l, and this space or pocket I fill with an explosive or fulminate 7a3,preferably held by a Wrapper' 7a4 of skin, oiled paper, or othersubstance. Similarly a pocket is formed in the spring K by the lappingover of the tongues 7d, the pocket being triangular instead ofrectangular, as in Fig. l, and this pocket will be filled with likeexplosive k3.

If then, the parts being placed as shown in Fig. l, any one shouldattempt to forcibly withdraw the stopper, the arms 7c or 7a', as thecase might be, would be buckled forcibly against the explosive, and thelatter would thereby be exploded with sufficient force to shatter theneck of the bottle.

Preferably the stopper will be cemented into the bottle-neck, and insuch case I propose to employ as the explosive fulminate of mercury, sothat if an acid should be used to eut out the cement it would explodethe charge k3 immediately upon reaching it.

Cork or other packing-Washers m m2 are employed to prevent anyaccidental access of moisture to the explosive.

It will be evident without further extended explanation that as thebottle is tipped o1' inverted to pour out its contents the liquid willreadily iioW through the perforated base around the valve D, into therecess g2, and through the openings g and g', around the stop f, thenceinto the cavity e, through the perforation e into the adjacent chamber,and finally out through the apertures a.

If any attempt should be made to 'reiill the bottle, the latter being inan upright position, it will be found to be impossible, because theheavy valve D will positively close the stopper, and if the bottle isimmersed in an inverted position the Heat-valve II would rise andeffeetually close the stopper.

The valve II Will be made of cork coated with paraffin or other wax notreadily attacked by the liquor or other contents of the bottle.

A usual cork N will be inserted over the stopper to seal the bottle forshipping purposes.

I am aware that it has been heretofore proposed to provide car-doorswith percussionalarms giving audible notice of the surreptitious openingof the door, and I therefore disclaim anything of that sort, myinvention consisting of an explosive in a bottle so placed between thestopper and the bottle-neck that it Will explode and shatter the neck ofthe bottle Whenever it is attempted to remove the stopper, theshattering of the bottle-neck being the object in View irrespective ofWhether any alarm is given or not.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

l. A bottle-stopper, comprising a cap and a base, having their oppositeheaded ends perforated, the latter to constitute a central Valve-seatand the former to constitute an annular series of openings with a closedcenter, said cap having an internal shoulder slightly removed from itshead, an annular piece resting on said shoulder, concave on its underside and having a central opening out of register With said series ofopenings, a stoppiece engaging said annular piece and having a centralstop larger than the said central opening, a cylindrical block having acentral IOO IIO

i tapered valve-seat, a float-valve therein, and

a gravity-valve in said described.

2. A bottle-stopper, comprising a cap havbase, substantially as `ing anexternal flange d2, a perforated outer said shoulder and the inner endof said cap,

said block having a tapering valve seat and passage, a float-valvetherein, the lower end of said block having an undercut portion toretain a spring, a spring therefor, a lower valve-seat, and a valvetherefor, said valve being engaged by said spring, substantially asdescribed.

3. The combination with a bottle-stopper and a bottle within which saidstopper is placed, of a pocket between the stopperand the bottle-neck,and an explosive therein capable of shattering the neck when exploded,substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. The combination with a bottle-stopper, of a pocket, an explosivetherein, and a'sprin g adjacent and to act upon the explosive andengaging the bottle, removal of the stopper causing said spring toexplode said explosive, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a bottle-stopper and a bottle-neck, provided`with registering recesses, of a spring fitting snugly in one of saidrecesses and having a resilient tongue extending into the other recess,and an explosive in said recesses to be exploded by the action of saidspring upon attempted removal of the stopper, substantially asdescribed.`

6. The combination with abottle, of a bo*- tle-stopper, comprising a caphaving an external flange a2, and a perforated outer end, said flangebeing adapted to rest on an internal shoulder provided in thebottle-neck, a washer being pressed between and by said Hau ge andshoulder, an annular piece, a stop, and a valve-block, restingsuccessively next to each other within said cap, and a valve within saidblock operating between the same and said stop, the lower end of s'aidblock being ,flush with the lower end of said cap, a base containing avalve and a valve-seat at its'lower end, and at its upper end abuttingthe lower end of said cap, a washer on top of said base covering thejoint between said block and cap, and a washer at the lower end of saidbase between the latter and the bottie-neck, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specication in thepresence of two subscribing Witnesses.

vJULiUs H. WITTEKIND.

Witnesses:

GEO. HMAXWELL, Guo. W. GREGORY.

